Waves

Fun fact: Israel is roughly the same size as the state of New Jersey

Now that I threw out a captivating fact to grab your attention, Happy Wednesday.  By the time you read this I'll most likely be closer to Thursday, but that's ok.

One thing I've always wrestled with when moving somewhere new (this is now my third time) is the lacking of simplicity. What I mean by this is, for awhile, things that would normally be fairly simple or mindless are not.  The amount of effort that has to be put into tasks such as finding the nearest grocery store, then purchasing said groceries, etc., is much more tasking in a brand new place.

Hebrew and a different currency don't help, but it's all new regardless of those barriers.

Relationships are the biggest simplicity that I consistently miss directly after the move - outside of Andrew, and my dog - all relationships are starting from scratch, having to be built up and nurtured, and therefore require a lot more time and energy than a relationship that is familiar and has been standing for years.

This is just me thinking out loud, not necessarily complaining, because I expected all of this going into the move.

One awesome thing about living in the middle of Tel Aviv is that when I'm having a bad day, a slower day, or just need to get out for awhile, the beach is always an option. And pretty much a guaranteed pick-me-up.

So yesterday after a productive morning I made the ten minute trek to the shore and was PUMPED to find that the waves were massive.

 {For the Med that is. I'm not talking Hawaii-sized waves but big enough to at least body surf and get tossed around}

I don't know what it is about big waves, but they make me irrationally happy. So I left my backpack near the shore by some trustworthy looking peeps and ran in, as cool-looking as possible (which is actually impossible when doing such an act alone).

It was a little odd, splashing and playing about in the waves completely by myself. I did some handstands and caught some of the bigger waves, trying to body surf them in. At one point a larger wave threw me under and I actually came back up with a stupid smile on my face.

An older gentleman was nearby also by himself, and we both caught each other smiling as another big wave came barreling through.  And it was the simplicity of those 20 minutes or so, completely alone with myself yet on a beach full of people that brought me a lot of unexpected joy.

So the point of this weird story?  I think joy is very easily found in simplicity, and I believe simplicity can be found easier than we often realize. You kind of just have to keep your eyes open, and seek it out.  I know building solid relationships out here is going to be a very healthy thing for both of us in the long run - but sometimes it's best to just take a step away from the noise and the events and the planned dinners or meet and greets - and be alone.

On that note, I'm off to another lunch.  Because it's about balance; and while my comfort zone is a good, necessary place to retreat to, I'm not going to make any friends standing in the ocean alone all day.

Cheers- 

Kait